Pakistani Kana

My friend Haniyyahrecently welcomed her second child into the world (on her own birthday too!) and was in town visiting. We were invited over to her family’s place to meet the baby and for an amazing Pakistani meal. They made patties, karhai chicken, begaray chaval, palak keema, and salad. I was even treated to Pakola which is a type of cream soda flavored soft drink that looks like Mountain Dew. I liked it.

The patties had ground beef with spices in a pastry type shell that we dipped in ketch-up. The karhai chicken was awesome! A little spicey but nothing crazy. Ellie loved that one. Begaray chaval is a rice dish and palak keema is ground beef and spinach. I’ve actually made that before. But it was nice to have them make it so I could know if I actually make it right.

The food was so good we ate so much. And for dessert, Haniyyah’s brother-in-law, Saqib, made baked Alaska. (Drool) This was a homemade chiffon cake, topped with strawberry ice cream, and then homemade meringue. Before you serve you take a torch to the meringue to make it golden. I had two pieces.

It was a great night of catching up with friends while enjoying a fantastic meal. I’m ready for the next one!

RECIPES:

Ground Beef Patties

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion sliced
1 small onion chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp corriander powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
2 serrano peppers
3 pepperidge farm puff pastry sheets, cut into 18 rectangles

1.) Fry the sliced onions in 2 tbsp oil. Once they are caramel colored add the garlic, ginger, red chilli powder, corriander powder, salt and cumin powder. Fry for 1 minute.
2.) Add the ground beef and tomatoes and chopped onion. Cook until the beef is browned and done.
3.) Defrost the puff pastry sheets and allow time for the beef to come to room temperature. Pre-heat oven to 425 (per the puff pastry sheet instructions).
4.) To each cut rectangle add about 2 tbsp of the beef. Fold the rectangle in half onto itself, and seal the edges with a fork.
5.) Apply an egg wash to the surface of the puff pastry patty just before baking. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Karahi Chicken

1 whole chicken, skinned, cut into 12 pieces
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped cilantro
4 serrano peppers
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds

1.) In a wide frying pan fry the cumin seeds, ginger and green chillis in about 4 tbsp of oil. Set the chillis aside after they have been fried.
2.) To the oil add in the garlic, red chilli powder, black pepper, salt, cumin seeds and chicken. Cook for about 10 minutes.
3.) Once the chicken has turned a white-ish color add in the tomatoes. Cook for about 15-20 minutes more until the chicken is cooked
4.) Garnish with fried cerrano peppers and chopped cilantro. Serve warm

Palak Keema

Baked Alaska